Members Login

Log in using

Not a Member Yet?

Why Join?

When you create an account with us, you'll be able to save your favourite books, make a wishlist of upcoming titles, receive newsletters about books you'll love, get recommendations tailored to you and order our books directly. Join us by creating an account and start getting the best experience from our website!

More information

Au Contraire!

Figuring Out the French

By Gilles Asselin and Ruth Mastron

Paperback

£16.99

Written for anyone interacting with the French - tourists, businesspeople, international students, Francophiles - Au Contraire! offers a perceptive understanding of French cultural beliefs, assumptions and attitudes, along with practical advice on building strong personal and professional relationships with the French.

The French are famously enigmatic: fiercely independent yet deeply romantic, conservative yet avant-garde, rational yet emotional. What is it, exactly, that makes the French so... French?

Written for anyone interacting with the French-tourists, businesspeople, international students, Francophiles-Au Contraire! offers a perceptive understanding of French cultural beliefs, assumptions and attitudes, along with practical advice on building strong personal and professional relationships with the French. Addressing issues like friendship, politics, work, education and romance, bilingual and bi cultural authors Asselin and Mastron draw upon their own experiences as consultants and trainers, as well as those of students and professionals, giving readers a complete - and compelling - look at French culture.

This revised edition of Au Contraire! includes updated information about France's changing social and political climate, advice for succeeding as an expat, information about the French educational system, overviews of France's diverse regions - and more.

Biographical Notes

Gilles Asselin, founder and executive director of New Jersey-based SoCoCo Intercultural, is a program designer, trainer and consultant who helps international executives and managers succeed when working across cultures. Ruth Mastron is vice-president of SoCoCo Intercultural and was formerly a liaison for overseas operations for various international corporations.

Other details

ISBN:
9781931930925

Publication date:
12 Jul 2010

Page count:
304

Imprint:
Intercultural Press

Mastron and Asselin have truly grasped the complex interfacing with Frenchculture. And nobody's right or wrong, just different! I find Au Contraire! delightfully validating-a great piece of work. — Nancy Bragard, Franco-American interculturalist, trainer and coach

Au Contraire! takes you on a journey of not only uncovering cultural differences but understanding and appreciating these differences in practically every aspect of life-whether it is business, public, or private. . . . A must-read for anyone seeking to gain better insight into French culture — Michael O. Davenport, director, Human Resources, UniStar Nuclear Energy

This new edition rightly underlines the regional and cultural diversity that contributes to the charm of France. The authors have moved France far from the cliches of an old-fashioned country. Vive le dialogue interculturel! — Olivia Brunet, European Commission's Regions of Knowledge Programme

Chock-full of practical examples, humor, and just the right amount of historical context, Au Contraire! is a valuable book for anyone working or living with the French. Even better than the first edition! — Natalie Lutz, intercultural trainer

Give it three Michelin stars for both nourishing the mind and charming the heart. — George Simons, associate director, Diversophy France

Hodder & Stoughton

How the Bible Actually Works

Peter Enns

Do Something

Kajal Odedra

Dopeworld

Niko Vorobyov

Authors:

Niko Vorobyov

__________Ecstasy in London, crack in Los Angeles, LSD in Tokyo, heroin in Sofia, cocaine in Medellin, bounty hunting in Manilla, opium in Tehran. This is your next fix. This is DOPEWORLD. __________DOPEWORLD is a bold and eye-opening exploration into the world of drugs. Taking us on an unforgettable journey around the world, we trace the emergence of psychoactive substances and our relationship with them. Exploring the murky criminal underworld, the author has unparalleled access to drug lords, cartel leaders, hitmen and government officials. This is a deeply personal journey into the heartland of the war on drugs and the devastating effect it's having on humanity.

The Golden Thread

Kassia St Clair

Sunny Side Up

Susan Calman

France

John Julius Norwich

Authors:

John Julius Norwich

I can still feel, as if it were yesterday, the excitement of my first Channel crossing (as a child of nearly 7) in September 1936; the regiment of porters, smelling asphyxiatingly of garlic in their blue-green blousons; the raucous sound all around me of spoken French; the immense fields of Normandy strangely devoid of hedges; then the Gare du Nord at twilight, the policemen with their képis and their little snow-white batons; and my first sight of the Eiffel Tower...This book is written in the belief that the average English-speaking man or woman has remarkably little knowledge of French history. We may know a bit about Napoleon or Joan of Arc or Louis XIV, but for most of us that's about it. In my own three schools we were taught only about the battles we won: Crécy and Poitiers, Agincourt and Waterloo. The rest was silence. So here is my attempt to fill in the blanks...John Julius Norwich (at 88) has finally written the book he always wanted to write, the extremely colourful story of the country he loves best. From frowning Roman generals and belligerent Gallic chieftains, to Charlemagne (hated by generations of French children taught that he invented schools) through Marie Antoinette and the storming of the Bastille to Vichy, the Resistance and beyond, FRANCE is packed with heroes and villains, adventures and battles, romance and revolution. Full of memorable stories and racy anecdotes, this is the perfect introduction to the country that has inspired the rest of the world to live, dress, eat -- and love better.

A Good Place to Hide

Peter Grose

Speaking of India

Craig Storti

The Greatest Escape

Peter Grose

Authors:

Peter Grose

During the occupation of France in WWII the villages around Le Chambon-sur-Lignon pulled off an astonishing and largely unknown feat. Risking everything, they underwent a long-running battle of nerves and daring to hide 5,000 men, women and children, 3,500 of them Jews, from the Nazis and their Vichy stooges. Despite the danger, a whole community rallied together, from the pacifist pastor who defied orders to the glamorous female agent with a wooden leg, from the 18-year-old master forger to the schoolgirl who ran suitcases stuffed with money for the Resistance.Told using first-hand testimonies of many of the survivors and face-to-face interviews conducted by the author, A Good Place to Hide is the thrilling story of ordinary people who thwarted the Nazis and sheltered strangers in desperate need.

Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication

Milton Bennett

Authors:

Milton Bennett

In the long-awaited second edition of Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication, Milton J. Bennett provides a comprehensive overview of the field from a constructivist perspective. In addition to his insightful analysis, Bennett offers a full complement of classic readings on the topic of intercultural communication, including: "Science and Linguistics," by Benjamin Lee Whorf "The Power of Hidden Differences," by Edward T. Hall "Culture: A Perceptual Approach," by Marshall R. Singer "Communication in a Global Village," by Dean Barlund "Cultural Identity: Reflections on Multiculturalism," by Peter S. Adler

A DIAMOND IN THE DESERT

Jo Tatchell

Authors:

Jo Tatchell

Barely forty years ago, Abu Dhabi was a fishing village on the Arabian Gulf. Now the capital of the United Arab Emirates, its citizens are each worth $17 million, it holds major stakes in Western economies, and has money to burn. In this timely, revealing and evocative portrait of a global player, Jo Tatchell traces the emirate's dramatic development and the sometimes ruinous effect of extreme wealth on its people and their desert culture. And as its rulers fund another giant leap forward, she probes behind the official facade to examine whether this secretive and controlled society can realise its breathtaking plans to transform relations between East and West.

Survival Kit for Overseas Living

L. Robert Kohls

A Summer In Gascony

Martin Calder

Nine Coaches Waiting

Mary Stewart

Authors:

Mary Stewart

The original queen of the page-turner Mary Stewart transports her readers to mid-century Savoy for a plot of danger and deception, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym.'One of the great British storytellers of the 20th century' Independent'Mary Stewart is magic' New York TimesLinda Martin understands what is to be lonely: her parents died when she was young, and she was raised in an orphanage. When she is hired as a governess to the orphaned young Philippe, Comte de Valmy, Linda finds a kindred spirit in the lonely little boy. But Philippe is the heir to a vast estate in Savoy, and his dangerously handsome uncle may be willing to kill to ensure that Philippe never inherits it.Mary Stewart's wonderful novel of suspense and intrigue set in the idyllic countryside of Savoy. A classic tale by one of the world's most beloved authors.'A wonderful wordsmith' Scotsman'She built the bridge between classic literature and modern popular fiction. She did it first and she did it best' Herald

What If?

Steve L. Robbins

Authors:

Steve L. Robbins

When Steve Long-Nguyen Robbins was growing up, his mother routinely told him, "Long, you walk on a path cleared by others, so it is your responsibility to clear the path for others." Her insightful guidance and self-sacrificing example are the forces that drive Robbins's corporate work around diversity and inclusion today. His goal is unwavering: to clear the path for others and recruit more "path makers" - to honor his mother and to make a better world for everyone. In What If?, Robbins provides twenty-six inspiring, lively, and sometimes deeply personal stories illustrating diversity and inclusion concepts. He offers insight and practical advice on how to reconcile unity with diversity and reframe our organizations for competitive advantages. He adds tips and suggestions for putting keylearning into action in your organization, ending each chapter with questions, an activity, and an assignment to inspire you to be more open-minded and inclusive and to discover how the ideas presented in the book might apply to your daily life at work and at home.